Nafnið Saving Iceland (Björgum Íslandi) stendur fyrir hóp af fólki sem er staðráðið í að standa gegn því að íslensk náttúra sé eyðilögð fyrir hagsmuni stórfyrirtækja í áliðnaði. Í samræmi við það að stórfyrirtækin eru í rekstri um allan heim er baráttan gegn þeim alþjóðleg og fólk frá mörgum löndum er hluti af Saving Iceland.

Icelandic embassy in Belgium

During our protest camp this summer, that starts 12th of July, a week of international solidarity actions will take place from July 21st to 27th.

People who can not come to the camp but want to support the resistance against heavy industry in Iceland, should take a look at Saving Iceland's target brochure (which can be found here) and use their imagination.

Saving Iceland
June 2008

The Left-Green Party demanded in parliament in April that the Minister of Justice, Bjorn Bjarnason, should write a detailed report of all actions of the Icelandic police against Saving Iceland activists during the years of 2005, 2006 and 2007.

This report is due now. Saving Iceland will be reporting on further developments in this case. Below is the demand in English.

Siggi Pönk from DYS

This Thursday, June 5th, several punk bands will support Saving Iceland on a concert in Reykjavík. The bands playing this time will be:

The oldest punk band in Iceland, Saktmóðingur, Dys, a legendary anaracho-punk band, the brother in Sleeps Like An Angry Bear and a brand new punk band Brillo

Click here for a video from the demonstration

A letter from our friends in Switzerland
GENEVA 26TH MARCH 2008

Motivated by other actions that have taken place all over Europe against heavy industry and by the inspiring presentations of Saving Iceland made by Icelandic activists this winter in Switzerland, we organised a demonstration, creating a new group of this international campaign in Geneva.

Saving Iceland
16 February 2007

The German electronic band THE! just released a live album which was recorded at the Saving Iceland camp 2007 in Mosfellsheidi.

The members of the band were traveling in Iceland when they heard about the camp and decided to give it a go. The concert took place in one of the camp´s big tents, were the protesters put on their dancing shoes and danced all night long.

THE! will be performing on a Saving Iceland benefit gig in Hamburg in April, amongst members from Gus Gus and more Icelandic and international artists. More about that later.

The album can be downloaded for free here .

Saving Iceland
Brussels
11 February 2008

This text was distributed by activists whilst disrupting this conference.

GREENWASH CONFERENCE OF METALS INDUSTRY

The conference Metals: Energy, Emissions and the Environment (11&12/02/2008 in Radisson SAS Royal Hotel, Brussels) is a fine example of pure greenwash.

A talk which opened a panel discussion at the 'Reykjavikur Akademia' with the topic 'What are the Fundamental Values of Society' 20 November 2007. Panelists included Reykjavik Chief of Police Stefán Eiríksson, historian and Left Green MP Guðfríður Lilja Grétarsdóttir and philosopher Viðar Thorsteinsson.

Erindið í íslenskri þýðingu.

For those of you who don´t already know me, my name is Miriam Rose, and I am an activist and environmental scientist from the UK. I have been asked to speak today on my experience of the basic values of Icelandic society, based on an interview I did on Kastljos in October, after I was threatened with deportation from Iceland for my part in actions against the heavy industry policy of your government. The letter of requested deportation which I received explained that I may be expelled from Iceland for a minimum of three years as my behavior constitutes a 'threat to the fundamental values of society'.

At Saving Iceland we are very aware that our presence in Iceland is surrounded by mystery, rumours, spectacle and a general otherness. We feel like we are as weird and wonderful as anyone else but we recognise that being interpreted by the TV and bloggers means that we can seem quite strange.

For this reason we decided to hold monthly old fashioned coffee evenings in Reykjavik where you can meet some of us, meet each other, meet other people who have opinions about dam, aluminium, heavy industry, etc. Even if you have problems with what we do, come and talk with us.

This declaration was made in consensus by dozens of people attending the first Saving Iceland conference, 'Global Consequences of Heavy Industry and Large Dams' on July 7-8, 2007. [Video report part 1 | 2]
Photo gallery of the conference.

We are gathered in Olfus, Iceland, we are people from more than fifteen different countries and five continents. We are here to share our experiences of heavy industry, dams, transnational companies and other expressions of globalisation, in Iceland, in Brazil, in South Africa, in Denmark, in Canada, in England, Germany, India, Trinidad and Tobago and many other countries.
We are not professional protestors. Unlike the well-paid corporate lobbyists and spindoctors that try to sell you heavy industry, none of us gets payed to be here. We are ordinary people, we are teachers, nurses, youth workers, students, shopworkers, fathers, mothers. We are here because we care. The Icelandic wilderness is unique. It is the largest in Europe and one of the few wild places left on this continent. It’s beauty and uniqueness and fire and ice are a heritage we must preserve and must defend. It is the heritage and responsibility and privilege of all Icelanders, and all Europeans, and all humans...

Jaap Krater
Earth First Journal
3 August, 2007

Summer of Resistance in Iceland - An overview

This year, Iceland saw its third Summer of direct action against heavy industry and large dams. In a much-disputed master plan, all the glacial rivers and geothermal potential of Europe’s largest wilderness would be harnessed for aluminum production (see EF!J May-June 2006). Activists from around the world have gathered to protect Europe’s largest remaining wilderness and oppose aluminum corporations.

START ART - Laugavegi 12b, Reykjavik

Over a dozen major Icelandic artists have donated their work for an exhibition and auction in Start Art, Artists House in support of this weekend's Saving Iceland conference.
The exhibition is open 3-5 July at 3pm-7pm, both days, and concludes with an auction of the artworks on Thursday 5 July at 5pm. The works and the artists will be introduced an hour before the bidding begins. Birna Þórðardóttir will act as auctioneer.

Serves as a good update of the 'Power Driven' article in the Guardian.

SchNews.org.uk
Fri 25th Feb 2005
Issue 486

Super-cool Iceland, the eco-tourist’s wet dream, right? Maybe not for much longer if the Icelandic government has its way.